Life Sciences Commons^™

Diferenciación De Nicho Ecológico En Ranas Arborícolas De Las Familias Hylidae Y Phyllomedusidae En La Zona Noroccidental De Suramérica Como Resultado De La Variación De Rasgos Morfológicos, Carolina Rodríguez Puello

Biología

La ocupación diferencial de nichos ecológicos está influenciada por procesos bióticos y abióticos, que incluyen interacciones entre especies, características ambientales y disponibilidad de recursos. Sin embargo, en especies estrechamente relacionadas se ha sugerido que la ocupación diferencial de espacios ambientales está relacionada con variaciones morfológicas y condiciones climáticas particulares de cada hábitat. En este estudio, se determinó si en especies pertenecientes a las familias Hylidae y Phyllomedusidae, la diferenciación de nicho ecológico está asociada a la divergencia de rasgos morfológicos destinados al uso del hábitat. Para ello, usando 97 especímenes depositados en colecciones biológicas, se realizaron análisis morfométricos del cuerpo …

Spotted Owls And Forest Fire: Comment, Gavin M. Jones, R. J. Gutiérrez, William M. Block, Peter C. Carlson, Emily J. Comfort, Samuel A. Cushman, Raymond J. Davis, Stephanie A. Eyes, Alan B. Franklin, Joseph L. Ganey, Shaula Hedwall, John J. Keane, Rodd Kelsey, Damon B, Lesmeister, Malcolm P. North, Susan L. Roberts, Jeremy T. Rockweit, Jamie S. Sanderlin, Sarah C. Sawyer, Ben Solvesky, Douglas J. Tempel, Ho Yi Wan, A. Leroy Westerling, Gary C. White, M. Zachariah Peery

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Western North American forest ecosystems are experiencing rapid changes in disturbance regimes because of climate change and land use legacies (Littell et al. 2018). In many of these forests, the accumulation of surface and ladder fuels from a century of fire suppression, coupled with a warming and drying climate, has led to increases in the number of large fires (Westerling 2016) and the proportion of areas burning at higher severity (Safford and Stevens 2017, Singleton et al. 2018). While the annual area burned by fire is still below historical levels (Taylor et al. 2016), some forest types in the west …

Scorpions Of The Horn Of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part Xxv. Description Of Pandinurus Awalei Sp. N. And The Male Of Pandiborellius Somalilandus (Kovařík, 2012), With Remarks On Recent Synonymies (Scorpionidae: Pandininae), František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe, Hassan Sh A. Elmi

Euscorpius

A new species Pandinurus awalei sp. n. is described from Somaliland. The male of Pandiborellius somalilandus (Kovařík, 2012) is also described for the first time and sexual dimorphism of the species is defined. The habitus, morphology and habitats of both species are illustrated in detail with color and UV fluorescence images, including both live and preserved specimens. The species Pandinurus intermedius (Borelli, 1919) and Pandipalpus lowei (Kovařík, 2012) of Pandininae that were synonymized by Prendini & Loria (2020) are reinstated as valid species.

Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar) Neurocranium, Connor Depriest, Nadia Abeido, David Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

9.0 cm in length. Neurocranium scan of an Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar). Collected from Two Bills Seafood on 04/09/20 by Nadia Abeido and Connor Depriest.

Loci Associated With Antibody Response In Feral Swine (Sus Scrofa) Infected With Brucella Suis, Courtney F. Pierce, Vienna R. Brown, Steven C. Olsen, Paola Boggiatto, Kerri Pedersen, Ryan S. Miller, Scott E. Speidel, Timothy J. Smyser

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Feral swine (Sus scrofa) are a destructive invasive species widespread throughout the United States that disrupt ecosystems, damage crops, and carry pathogens of concern for the health of domestic stock and humans including Brucella suis—the causative organism for swine brucellosis. In domestic swine, brucellosis results in reproductive failure due to abortions and infertility. Contact with infected feral swine poses spillover risks to domestic pigs as well as humans, companion animals, wildlife, and other livestock. Genetic factors influence the outcome of infectious diseases; therefore, genome wide association studies (GWAS) of differential immune responses among feral swine can provide …

A Review Of Avian Influenza A Virus Associations In Synanthropic Birds, Susan A. Shriner, J. Jeffrey Root

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Avian influenza A viruses (IAV) have received significant attention due to the threat they pose to human, livestock, and wildlife health. In this review, we focus on what is known about IAV dynamics in less common avian species that may play a role in trafficking IAVs to poultry operations. Specifically, we focus on synanthropic bird species. Synanthropic species, otherwise known as peridomestic, are species that are ecologically associated with humans and anthropogenically modified landscapes, such as agricultural and urban areas. Aquatic birds such as waterfowl and shorebirds are the species most commonly associated with avian IAVs, and are generally considered …

Reddyanus Justi Sp. N. From Laos (Scorpiones: Buthidae), František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe, František Šťáhlavský

Euscorpius

A new species Reddyanus justi sp. n. from Laos is described, fully complemented with color photographs of live and preserved specimens. The new species is characterized by the irregular quadrilateral shape of the subaculear tubercle in males. In addition to analysis of external morphology and hemispermatophore, we also describe the karyotype (2n=12)

An Annotated Atlas Of The Freshwater Fishes Of North Carolina, Bryn H. Tracy, Fred C. Rohde, Gabriela M. Hogue

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

North Carolina’s first state-specific checklist of freshwater fish species was published in 1709 by John Lawson. Subsequent species lists with descriptions included: Brickell (1737), Cope (1870a), Jordan (1889a), Jordan and Evermann (1896-1900), Smith (1907), Jordan et al. (1930), Fowler (1945), Louder (1962), Ratledge et al. (1966), Menhinick et al. (1974). In 1991, Menhinick published “The Freshwater Fishes of North Carolina”, which is still widely in use because a comprehensive update has not been produced since its publication. The increase in the availability of historical records in globally accessible databases and the surge of collections post-1991 …

Red Lionfish (Pterois Volitans) Neurocranium, Matthew B. Edwards, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Neurocranium from a Lionfish (Pterois volitans) collected from whole foods supermarket on 11/9/2020

Two New Species Of Chiromachetes (Scorpiones: Hormuridae) From The Northern Western Ghats, India, Shauri Sulakhe, Shubhankar Deshpande, Nikhil Dandekar, Makarand Ketkar, Gaurang Gowande, Anand Padhye, Deshabhushan Bastawade

Euscorpius

Two new species of Chiromachetes Pocock, 1899 (Hormuridae) are described from the northern Western Ghats of India using an integrated taxonomic approach. Chiromachetes parakrami sp. n. and C. ramdasswamii sp. n. are closely related and differ from each other and C. sahyadriensis by morphological features and raw genetic divergence of 7.9–9.4 %.

Escolar (Lepidocybium Flavobrunneum) Neurocranium, Meredith M. Pratt, Katerina D. Sawickij, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Neurocranium prep of escolar Lepidocybium flavobrunneum obtained from longlining vessel.

Genomic Adaptations To Salinity Resist Gene Flow In The Evolution Of Floridian Watersnakes, Rhett M. Rautsaw, Tristan D. Schramer, Rachel Acuña, Lindsay N. Arick, Mark Dimeo, Kathryn P. Mercier, Michael Schrum, Andrew J. Mason, Mark J. Margres, Jason L. Strickland, Christopher L. Parkinson

Publications and Research

The migration-selection balance often governs the evolution of lineages, and speciation with gene flow is now considered common across the tree of life. Ecological speciation is a process that can facilitate divergence despite gene flow due to strong selective pressures caused by ecological differences; however, the exact traits under selection are often unknown. The transition from freshwater to saltwater habitats provides strong selection targeting traits with osmoregulatory function. Several lineages of North American watersnakes (Nerodia spp.) are known to occur in saltwater habitat and represent a useful system for studying speciation by providing an opportunity to investigate gene flow …

Not Withering On The Evolutionary Vine: Systematic Revision Of The Brown Vine Snake (Reptilia: Squamata: Oxybelis) From Its Northern Distribution, Robert C. Jadin, Christopher Blair, Sarah A. Orlofske, Michael J. Jowers, Gilson A. Rivas, Laurie J. Vitt, Julie M. Ray, Eric N. Smith, John C. Murphy

Publications and Research

The genus Oxybelis currently is composed of four taxa despite numerous studies suggesting and describing multiple taxa within the O. aeneus complex. Here, we utilize a multilocus molecular dataset (i.e. cyt b, ND4, 12S, 16S, cmos, PRLR, 3663 bp) to conduct phylogenetic analyses to assess the evolutionary history of Oxybelis. Our molecular analyses find three major lineages of Oxybelis (i.e. O. aeneus complex, O. brevirostris, O. fulgidus complex) with a sister relationship between O. brevirostris and the O. aeneus complex to the exclusion of the O. fulgidus complex. More specifically, O. aeneus appears to harbor at least …

Steganoderma Stafford, 1904 (Digenea: Zoogonidae: Lepidophyllinae) From Two Species Of Rockfishes From Deep Waters Off Oregon Including A New Species And An Updated Key To Species Of This Genus, Charles K. Blend, Gábor R. Rácz

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

Steganoderma eamiqtrema n. sp. and a single unidentified specimen of Steganoderma Stafford, 1904 (Zoogonidae: Lepidophyllinae) obtained from the intestine of the greenstriped rockfish, Sebastes elongatus Ayres, 1859, and the flag rockfish, Sebastes rubrivinctus (Jordan and Gilbert, 1880) (Scorpaeniformes: Sebastidae), collected from 190–200 m depths off Oregon, USA, are described. The new species is distinguished from its seven other congeners by a diagnostic combination of morphological features including an elongate oval to spindle-shaped body, a clavate to comma-shaped cirrus pouch located in the forebody and hindbody, a bipartite seminal vesicle, a bifurcal or just post-bifurcal genital pore, a larger ventral than …

Instability Of Glucocorticoid Metabolites In Coyote Scats: Implications For Field Sampling, Erika T. Stevenson, Eric M. Gese, Lorin A. Neuman-Lee, Susannah S. French

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Studying physiologic stress responses can assist in understanding the welfare of animals. One method of measuring the physiologic stress response is evaluating concentrations of glucocorticoid metabolites in feces. Previously, using an adrenocorticotropic hormone challenge, we found fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels were a reliable indicator of physiologic stress response in coyotes (Canis latrans). We determine whether glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations remain stable when collecting feces over a 2-week period, a timeframe commonly used in scat surveys for wild canids. We collected feces from 6 captive coyotes maintained at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Predator …

Tools, Techniques And Teamwork: Transferring New Technologies For Wildlife Management, Conservation And Economic Development, John Eisemann, Gail Keirn

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Did you ever wonder who invented radio telemetry? Or breakaway snares? What about the bird repellent methyl anthranilate or the livestock protection collar? These and many other tools used in wildlife damage management resulted from creative thinking by biologists, technicians, researchers and managers working to solve complex wildlife issues. Over the past 90 years, these “aha moments” within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program have ranged from developing novel scare devices, traps and vaccines to exploiting an animal’s visual capabilities to stop unwanted behaviors. Once discovered, these unique ideas may lead to practical, feasible and cost-effective wildlife damage …

Impact Of Anthropic Pressure On The Quality And Diversity Of Groundwater In The Region Of Sighus Oum-El-Bouaghi And El Rahmounia, Algeria., Hadjab Ramzi, Khammar Hichem, Redjaimia Lylia, Merzoug Djemoi, Saheb Menouar

Journal of Bioresource Management

Groundwater of Oum-El-Bouaghi and its surroundings hosts a variety of microflora and fauna. This study investigated the relationship between the effect of human activity and the biodiversity and distribution of aquatic fauna in two semi-arid regions Sighus region (Oum-El-Bouaghi) and El Rahmouni (Constantine) in north-eastern Algeria. Fourteen wells and six springs were studied in two hydrographic basins, that of Constantine and Seybouse Melegue. Significant differences were revealed between the wells and springs in the two watersheds, making it possible to distinguish four groups of wells and two groups of springs. The overall faunal richness of the stations appeared to be …

Тaxonomic Position Of Orthochirus Olivaceus (Karsch, 1881), The Type Species Of The Genus Orthochirus Karsch, 1892 (Scorpiones: Buthidae), František Kovařík, Victor Fet, Manal Siyam

Euscorpius

We address the taxonomic position of Orthodactylus olivaceus Karsch, 1881, the type species of the genus Orthochirus Karsch, 1892. For over a century, this taxon was considered a synonym of Orthochirus scrobiculosus (Grube, 1873); however, the latter was recently limited to Central Asia (Turkmenistan) (Kovařík et al., 2020). Analysis of Karsch’s holotype confirmed that Orthochirus olivaceus (Karsch, 1881), is a valid species. Its type locality published as “Sicily” is clearly incorrect. It is a senior synonym of Butheolus aristidis Simon, 1882, syn. n., described from Sudan (Nubia). We confirm its distribution in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.

Assessing Vulture Translocation As A Management Tool To Mitigate Airport Bird Strikes, Weber Galvão Novaes, Tarcísio Lyra Dos Santos Abreu, Rafael Soave Guerta

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Collisions between wildlife and aircraft are a major safety concern for international aviation. In the Americas, vultures (Cathartidae) are considered to be one of the most hazardous bird species to airport operations. In this study, we evaluated the use of translocations as a management technique to reduce vulture abundance near the Manaus International Airport (MAO), Manaus, Brazil. The MAO is one of the busiest and most strategically important airports in South America, often referred to as the gateway to the Brazilian Amazon. We captured, wing-tagged, and translocated 98 vultures between August and October 2013 and between January and April 2014. …

Environmental Variability Supports Chimpanzee Behavioural Diversity, Ammie K. Kalan, Lars Kulik, Mimi Arandjelovic, Christophe Boesch, Fabian Haas, Paula Dieguez, Christopher D. Barratt, Ekwoge E. Abwe, Anthony Agbor, Samuel Angedakin, Floris Aubert, Emmanuel Ayuk Ayimisin, Emma Bailey, Mattia Bessone, Gregory Brazzola, Valentine Ebua Buh, Rebecca Chancellor, Heather Cohen, Charlotte Coupland, Bryan Curran, Emmanuel Danquah, Tobias Deschner, Dervla Dowd, Manasseh Eno-Nku, J. Michael Fay, Annemarie Goedmakers, Anne-Celine Granjon, Josephine Head, Daniela Hedwig, Veerle Hermans, Kathryn J. Jeffery, Sorrel Jones, Jessica Junker, Parag Kadam, Mohamed Kambi, Ivonne Kienast, Deo Kujirakwinja, Kevin E. Langergraber, Juan Lapuente, Bradley Larson, Kevin C. Lee, Vera Leinert, Manuel Llana, Sergio Marrocoli, Amelia C. Meier, Bethan Morgan, David Morgan, Emily Neil, Sonia Nicholl, Emmanuelle Normand, Lucy Jayne Ormsby, Liliana Pacheco, Alex Piel, Jodie Preece, Martha M. Robbins, Aaron S. Rundus, Crickette Sanz, Volker Sommer, Fiona Stewart, Nikki Tagg, Claudio Tennie, Virginie Vergnes, Adam Welsh, Erin G. Wessling, Jacob Willie, Roman M. Wittig, Yisa Ginath Yuh, Klaus Zuberbuhler, Hjalmar S. Kuehl

Anthropology & Sociology Faculty Publications

Large brains and behavioural innovation are positively correlated, species-specific traits, associated with the behavioural flexibility animals need for adapting to seasonal and unpredictable habitats. Similar ecological challenges would have been important drivers throughout human evolution. However, studies examining the influence of environmental variability on within-species behavioural diversity are lacking despite the critical assumption that population diversification precedes genetic divergence and speciation. Here, using a dataset of 144 wild chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) communities, we show that chimpanzees exhibit greater behavioural diversity in environments with more variability - in both recent and historical timescales. Notably, distance from Pleistocene forest refugia is associated …

Distribution Of Root-Knot Nematodes On Agricultural Plants, Harm And Their Host Plants, Shoira Saidova, Holisa Eshova, Guzal Mirzaliyeva, Sayora Sadikova

Bulletin of National University of Uzbekistan: Mathematics and Natural Sciences

The article presents data on the spread of root-knot nematodes on crops, harm and host plants in the conditions of the Tashkent oasis. It has been established that 5 species of root nematodes are found in cultivated and wild plants - Meloidogyne javanica, M. arenaria, M. incognita, M. acrita, M. plum, which are common in vegetables and melons and cause great damage to these plants. Nematode M.javanica was found in the roots of plants such as sunflower, cabbage, watermelon, cucumber, pumpkin, zucchini, melon, corn, tomato, beets, eggplant and carrots, in the foci of infection of the plant 20-60 %, …

Functional Morphology Of Gliding Flight Ii. Morphology Follows Predictions Of Gliding Performance, Jonathan Rader, Tyson L. Hedrick, Yanyan He, Lindsay D. Waldrop

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The evolution of wing morphology among birds, and its functional consequences, remains an open question, despite much attention. This is in part because the connection between form and function is difficult to test directly. To address this deficit, in prior work we used computational modeling and sensitivity analysis to interrogate the impact of altering wing aspect ratio, camber, and Reynolds number on aerodynamic performance, revealing the performance landscapes that avian evolution has explored. In the present work, we used a dataset of three-dimensionally scanned bird wings coupled with the performance landscapes to test two hypotheses regarding the evolutionary diversification of …

Data For Rosenberger & Conforti. Native And Agricultural Grassland Use By Stable And Declining Bumble Bees In Midwestern North America. Insect Cons. & Div., Derek W. Rosenberger, Mckenna Conforti

Faculty Scholarship – Biology

Little is known about how agricultural and native grasslands impact bumble bee populations in the Midwestern United States. We surveyed bumble bee populations over 3 years (2017-2019) at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in restored prairie, cattle and bison pastures. Raw data from that work is included in this file. These data were used in the manuscript "Native and agricultural grassland use by stable and declining bumble bees in Midwestern North America" by Derek Rosenberger and McKenna Conforti, and published in the journal Insect Conservation and Diversity in 2020.

Summer Field Report, June-July 2020, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Overall, this was a fairly routine summer although birders in Nebraska know that “routine” still holds promise of a few happenings out of the ordinary. The summer season primarily examines new breeding records, range expansions, and changes in numbers, up or down. Mississippi Kites were conspicuous, a pair providing Scottsbluff’s first breeding record, but a repeating pair in Lincoln, Lancaster lost its nest in a windstorm. The first nesting record for Violet-Green Swallow for Sheridan, 7th nesting for White-winged Dove, and 9th for Short-eared Owl were all encouraging, as was an apparent family group of Northern Saw-whet Owls in Sioux. …

Robert Wolcott And The Art Of Nest Records, Thomas E. Labedz

Nebraska Bird Review

The autumn of 1894 was fortuitous for Nebraska ornithology because it is when Robert Henry Wolcott accepted an assistantship at the University of Nebraska, moving to Lincoln from the University of Michigan (Swenk 1935). Wolcott, from that point onward, made significant contributions to our knowledge of Nebraska birds (Bruner et al. 1903, Wolcott 1909, 1919), was a founding member of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union (NOU), and was editor for the first three Proceedings of the NOU from 1899-1902. His work expanded beyond local focus and he eventually authored a text on animal biology (Wolcott 1933). The topic of this paper, …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 88 September 2020, Number 3

Nebraska Bird Review

Summer Field Report, June - July 2020, by W. Ross Silcock …94.

Robert Wolcott and the Art of Nest Records, by Thomas E. Labedz …112

2019 (31st) Report of the NOU Records Committee, by Mark A. Brogie …124

Subscription and Organization Information …135

Dietary Development And Nutritional Ontogeny In Gorilla Beringei : A Multi-Layered, -Omics Approach, Emma C. Cancelliere

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In species who consume folivorous diets, immature individuals must contend with the challenges of extracting nutrients from fibrous foods before dietary adaptations and strategies are fully developed. Additionally, immatures have distinct nutritional needs to support their stage-specific metabolic and biophysiological requirements. To meet these stage-specific needs, while constrained by underdeveloped feeding strategies and digestive capacities, immatures may adopt distinct diets better suited to their specific developmental context. However, where dietary modification is constrained by low dietary diversity or landscape homogeneity, it is unclear how immature individuals compensate through alternative strategies. In turn, little is known about the nutritional and life …

Intensive Animal Farming Conditions Are A Major Threat To Global Health, Cynthia Schuck-Paim

Animal Sentience

Wiebers & Feigin accurately propose that reducing the risks posed by infectious disease outbreaks and other global health challenges will depend critically on transitioning away from intensive animal farming practices. Creating the right incentive structure for this transition to happen is one of the great challenges in the years to come, but a much-needed step to ensure the health and well-being of current and future generations.

Vampire Bats: Preparing For Range Expansion Into The U.S., Michael J. Bodenchuk, David L. Bergman

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The common vampire bat apparently is expanding its range northwards in Mexico and seems poised to enter the southern United States. Climate models predict suitable habitat in the U.S. in south Texas and parts of southern Arizona. While vampire bats’ northward range expansion is not unexpected, the fact that this species brings a strain of rabies that impacts livestock and people warrants a strategic response. Annual economic damages from bats are estimated between $7M and $9M, largely associated with deaths of livestock from rabies. To prepare for the emerging rabies issue, USDA Wildlife Services programs in Texas and Arizona have …

Further Review Of Orthochirus Karsch, 1892 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From Asia: Taxonomic Position Of O. Melanurus, O. Persa, O. Scrobiculosus, And Description Of Six New Species, František Kovařík, Victor Fet, Ersen A. Yağmur

Euscorpius

We describe six new species of Orthochirus: O. birulai sp. n. (Pakistan), O. formozovi sp. n. (Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan), O. grosseri sp. n. (Uzbekistan), O. kryzhanovskyi sp. n. (Pakistan), O. nordmanni sp. n. (Afghanistan), and O. sejnai sp. n. (Iran). Descriptions are complemented with color photographs of preserved specimens. The identities of Orthochirus melanurus (Kessler, 1874) (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan), O. persa (Birula, 1900), stat. n. (Afghanistan, Iran), and O. scrobiculosus (Grube, 1873) (Turkmenistan) are reexamined, based on detailed study of the type specimens; lectotypes of all three species are designated. We demonstrate for the first time that the name …